Suresh Menon LAST WORD

Suresh Menon is a prominent Indian journalist, author and a noted sports writer. He is one of India’s best known columnists on cricket, and his writings on politics, literature and sport have a global audience. He tweets at @surmenon

Latest from Suresh Menon

Defending a creation

Sparking a debate: Cristiano Ronaldo’s statue at the International Airport in Madeira. Though many didn’t like it, Emanuel Jorge da Silva Santos, the sculptor, said, “I liked the result and was really proud of it. And if I had to do it again, I would make everything exactly the same.”

Exercise, a choice

Art of exercising: The first comprehensive book on exercise wasDe Art Gymnasticaby Girolamo Mercuriale. (a representative image

India’s chess boom speaks of the sport’s growing popularity

Deserving candidate: The time has come to bestow the nation’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, on Viswanathan Anand.

Are professional athletes paid too much?

Minting money: Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete, earning around $260 million.

Patriotism vs fairplay in sports: Where do we draw the line?

Moment of infamy: Luis Suarez received a four-month ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s final group game at the 2014 World Cup.

Boxing’s gender row at Paris Olympics: No foolproof system

Fair enough?: The president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, said last year, “If we ever get pushed into a corner to that point where we’re making a judgment about fairness or inclusion, I will always fall on the side of fairness.”

Fighting for all Afghanistan women at Paris Olympics

Powerful statement: After her 100-metre heats in the Paris Olympics, Kimia Yousofi of Afghanistan held up these words on paper: ‘Education’, ‘Sport’, ‘Our Rights’.

The Last Word: The quadrennial extravaganza is here, again

Added attraction: Breaking, popularly known as break dance, is included in Paris 2024.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s I Have the Streets: A kutti cricket story paints the big picture

His other side: The book, “I Have the Streets: A Kutti Cricket Story”, chronicles R. Ashwin’s transition from gully cricket and his quest to constantly evolve.

The Last Word: Using sports to make a point

Giving importance: Athletes are often sympathetic to the cause of climate crisis. Footballer and commentator Gary Lineker said, “I think what is more important is our existence in the future rather than a slight disruption of sporting events.”

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